FENLAND: Company bidding for second turbine near Whitemoor Prison in war of words with planners

THE company bidding to for a second wind turbine near to Whitemoor Prison has accused council planners of prejudice in determining their application.

Nicola Mortimer, development manager for Wind Direct Ltd- the company behind the joint venture with Snowmountain Enterprises- questioned advice given to council officials by their planning department.

Ms Mortimer says the department's conclusion - which could pave the way for a recommendation to reject the application- is "not a balanced decision, weighing the clear benefits of the turbine against all relevant policies".

The war of words is contained with the publicly accessible files at Fenland Hall in advance of April's planning committee that should decide the issue.

Ms Mortimer rejects claims by planning officer Bruce Waller that the Longhill site is earmarked exclusively for employment.

She says there will be a minimal loss of employment land and that the turbine would promote rather than prejudice development in the area.

"Addition of another wind turbine would promote the area as a sustainable forward thinking region, and would be very attractive to companies looking for new premises to relocate", she says.

Dozens of residents have signed a petition or forwarded letters of objections but most statutory bodies have raised no objections.

The county council's archaeological unit says it has no objection in principle but insists Wind Direct agree to a full survey.

Kasia Ghaniec, the senior archaeologist, says there were some issues raised by the first turbine and "the resolution for which remains outstanding but in process".

However there has been no objections from the Ministry of Justice on behalf of Whitemoor Prison.

The ministry says they have "no objection to the turbine in principle but like all neighbours we would like to receive reassurance that the turbine will have no adverse impact on the establishment in terms of noise and shadows".